Welcome to LINDA MAHONEY COLOR WOODBLOCK PRINTS. On this page I display my most recent work and information about me and my process.

COLD STORAGE BEACH IN LATE OCTOBER is my first finished print of 2024. The watercolor study was done at Cold Storage Beach, North Truro, MA in October 2023 when a mid-day shower was soon to begin. This print has several transparent layers of color in the sky. I carved 8 blocks but used only 5 in the final design which used 16 rubbings or color layers to create an edition of 30 on Rives Heavyweight Cream Cotton paper. The image area is 10.5” x 15.75".

NARRAGUAGUS BAY, was finished in December 2023 and was based on a watercolor done in late August 2023 on a pretty rainy painting trip downcast Maine. The image measures 7” x 17”, framed 14” x 24” and was hand-printed from 4 blocks with 9 rubbings or color layers. I am attracted to gray weather, despite the challenges.

APPLE TREE IN APRIL, WARRIOR OF SPRING is a print I started in June and I finished printing it in October and November 2023. This was based on a watercolor painting I did in April following the Spring pruning of the apple trees at at friend’s old orchard. It’s so exiting to see the trees awaken and start their annual growth surge. This particular one made me think of the Yoga Warrior Pose. This one was printed from 7 blocks with 13 rubbings for an edition of 30 on Rives Heavyweight paper. The image measures 10.5” x 15.75” and the framed size is 18 x 23”. There are threes variants within the edition and you will see them if you go to the page linked through the image.

A BIT OF MY HISTORY AND MOKU HANGA PROCESS

I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in the suburb of Norwood. As a child I spent countless hours painting and drawing and eventually studied art in college, attending Greenfield Community College, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and receive a BFA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst with a major in Painting and a minor in Art History in 1979. Later in 1992 I received Post Baccalaureate Teacher Certification from Westfield Sate College. I live in Northfield, Massachusetts with my husband, and I was an art teacher at Stoneleigh-Burnham School for Girls in Greenfield, Massachusetts from 1987 to 2016. 

In 2016 I was an Artist in Residence at Acadia National Park in Maine for the month of June and this was an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in the coastal landscape. I have been painting at various locations in Downeast Maine and Grand Manan, NB for many years. Since retiring from teaching in 2016, I have had more time to pursue making larger and more complex woodblock prints. In 2011 I began to exhibit and sell my woodblock prints at outdoor art shows in New England and has received several awards. 

I was a painter for over 30 years, before I began making color woodblock prints in the Moku Hanga technique (Japanese watercolor woodblock prints) in 2007. Gradually over the next two years I refined my skills and understanding of the process, and color woodblock printmaking became my primary medium. The process is contemplative and low-tech with distinct steps: designing an image, carving the blocks and experimenting with colors while proof printing the blocks, refining the blocks, exploring which colors and image needs, and eventually printing the image.

I paint numerous watercolors en plein air, during the warmer months, returning to favorite places each year. I favor the undisturbed landscape, usually nature preserves, state parks, wildlife sanctuaries, or “undeveloped” coastal areas. I am particularly drawn to Downeast Maine; the Schoodic Peninsular, Steuben, Addison, and Lubec. Distinctive trees, crashing surf and rocks, bogs, boreal forests, marshes, and active skies are frequently my subjects. During the cooler months, I study these watercolors and select the ones that best capture the spirit of place to use as designs for woodblock prints. Usually making around 6 prints a year.

I begin an image with sketches or paintings done on-site, and then simplify the design, focusing on the lines of movement and the essential shapes that define the image. After figuring out how many woodblocks are needed to separate the colors in the design, I transfer the shapes in reverse to woodblocks. On each block, I carve away areas that will not be printed leaving the raised (relief) image. I apply light-fast water-based pigments and rice paste to the raised areas, mixing them with a brush directly on the block. Then, I place dampened paper on the block, and rub it with a hand-held baren to transfer the impression. Multiple blocks are used, usually one for each color; overprinting two colors creates additional colors on the print. Usually I print the lighter colors first, and the darkest one last. I print some blocks with a Bokashi (gradation.)

I primarily use Rives, a 100% cotton French paper. All matting and framing materials are acid free and archival.